Chapter 432 The Restaurant Franchise Plan
The scholars arrived in great numbers and left completely satisfied.
Cheng Wanwan sat in the courtyard, holding her little granddaughter in her arms, listening attentively to the reports from the two sisters, Wei Hongying and Wei Hongyan, about what they had heard that day.
"The lotus buds were blooming in the middle of the lake. The young masters wanted to row a boat on the lake, but there were no suitable boats in the village, so they had to give up."
Cheng Wanwan nodded. The village only had bamboo rafts and simple boats made of a few logs, which the villagers could only use to cast nets or herd ducks in the river. They were indeed not suitable for scholars and literati. It seemed that they would have to buy those small boats specifically for boating on the lake.
"When Young Master Shen mentioned catching wild boars in the mountains, many people became interested and even wanted to go hunting, but they gave up because they didn't have the tools."
"They also talked about pitch-pot and guessing games, and passing the flower while beating the drum... I didn't understand what they were."
Organizing these activities in the village is actually not difficult; you just need to prepare the props for the fun in advance.
In fact, other projects can be developed, such as fishing, feeding rabbits, picking lotus pods, etc., which are similar to modern agritourism.
Cheng Wanwan handed the child to Wei Hongying, unfolded paper and pen, and began to carefully write the planning document and draw diagrams to facilitate the villagers in making props. She was busy until night.
After the meal, Zhao Ergou walked up to Cheng Wanwan and said, "Mom, I've come up with a plan for what happened last time."
Cheng Wanwan knew he was referring to the idea of opening a chain of restaurants. Her idea was to open a franchise store, but she didn't say it directly and wanted to hear Er Gou's opinion first.
“Let’s buy a group of people and teach them how to cook. The day they graduate will be the day the new restaurant opens,” Zhao Ergou said. “Actually, Chunhua can graduate now. Even if my sister-in-law doesn’t go for a few days, Chunhua can handle it perfectly well. From now on, Chunhua will be in charge of the kitchen, and my sister-in-law will teach her skills to these people.”
“That idea is indeed feasible, but—” Cheng Wanwan began, “The two most important roles in a restaurant are the chef and the manager. Where are you going to find so many managers? Our family is weak and just starting out. Unlike wealthy families like the Cao and Qian families, we don’t have servants to train. They don’t have to worry about loyalty. But if we choose the wrong person, the whole business will be ruined.”
Zhao Ergou pondered this deeply. It was indeed a big problem. The shopkeeper was the person with the highest authority in the shop, and he had to find someone trustworthy.
However, none of their relatives were capable of this role. It wouldn't be good for him to constantly inspect every shop; that would be too tiring for him.
My mother once said that if you work hard to earn money and ruin your health, it's better not to earn it at all.
Learn to leverage external resources to make making money easier.
Cheng Wanwan asked slowly, "Have you thought about what the biggest reason is for the success of our Grand River Banquet?"
“It’s the dishes,” Zhao Ergou answered without hesitation. “Every dish is a delicacy that no other restaurant can replicate. Zuixianlou has also launched pickled fish and roast duck, but they are only similar in appearance, not in taste. Ordinary people can taste the difference.”
Cheng Wanwan laughed: "What if you could get all the secret recipes for the dishes of the Great River Banquet just by spending money?"
Zhao Ergou frowned: "Zui Xian Lou will definitely spend this money, but if Zui Xian Lou has our signature dishes, won't Da He Yan lose its special features? Will people who come here specifically for Da He Yan still want to eat here?"
"There's another prerequisite: the signboard must be changed to Dahe Banquet," Cheng Wanwan continued. "All the decorations and furnishings are exactly the same as Dahe Banquet, and the dishes and service attitude will maintain the same standard. Dahe Banquet will provide all the recipes and secret formulas without reservation, and will have the right to guide the operation of this shop. Moreover, there is only one Dahe Banquet per region, first come, first served."
Zhao Ergou's brows were initially furrowed, but then relaxed, and his eyes shone brightly.
He wasn't stupid; in a split second, he understood the advantages of this plan. They were currently short-handed, and this method was undoubtedly the best option.
Not only can it make things easy for oneself, but it can also spread the Great River Banquet to all corners of the country without lifting a finger.
"Mother, let's do it this way!" Zhao Ergou said. "The Grand River Banquet has four main dishes, eighteen classic side dishes, six soups, and some unique snacks. How many taels of silver would be appropriate for all these dishes?"
“That’s not all. From now on, Dahe Banquet will introduce a new dish every month, at least one per month,” Cheng Wanwan said. “Furthermore, we are not selling dishes, but the Dahe Banquet brand. I have two options: first, a one-time franchise fee of one thousand taels of silver; second, a franchise fee of two hundred taels of silver, but the franchisee must provide two tiers of profit sharing.”
Zhao Ergou was dumbfounded.
A franchise fee of one thousand taels of silver? That's way too expensive.
A restaurant shop costs at least 1,000 taels of silver. With renovations, hiring staff, and franchise fees, it would cost at least 2,200 taels of silver. This amount of money would exclude many people.
Those people would be better off taking two thousand taels of silver and opening their own restaurant...
“I don’t really advocate buying out a franchise in one go. A steady, long-term approach is the right way to go,” Cheng Wanwan said. “A franchise fee of two hundred taels of silver isn’t much. Some people in the city who run small businesses can probably scrape together the money. Only when they put in most of their savings will they seriously commit to doing something and not ruin the reputation of our Dahe Banquet.”
As for those wealthy people, each has their own business brand, and it's simply impossible for them to spend a lot of money to join Daheyan.
Zhao Ergou nodded: "I understand. I'll go over it again tonight and send out the message tomorrow morning."
Cheng Wanwan stretched and chatted for a while. It was completely dark outside, and the croaking of frogs continued in the quiet night. When she wasn't sleepy, she enjoyed listening to the croaking of frogs, but now that she was drowsy, the croaking of frogs seemed particularly noisy. She thought about catching some frogs and making a stir-fried frog dish tomorrow, and just thinking about it made her mouth water.
However, frogs seem to be easier to catch at night. The kids at home are all tired and asleep, so let's not bother with any more fuss.
The next morning, before I even left my room, I heard Aunt Wang talking outside: "Last night, Mudskipper and his dad couldn't sleep, so they went out to catch frogs. Look, they caught a whole bucketful, all lively and jumping around. I'm bringing half a bucket over to your house."
So, lunchtime is settled: stir-fried frog legs, with some side dishes, such as green vegetables and bean sprouts, to reduce the spiciness.
For this more complicated approach, the old rules still apply: Cheng Wanwan dictates, and Wu Huiniang cooks.
Today is the last day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. After this day, the whole family will resume their busy routine.
The lunch menu was plentiful, with the main dish being stir-fried frogs. These frogs, caught between spring and summer, have very tender meat. The heavy oil and spiciness masked the earthy taste, and with a gentle bite, they were incredibly tender. Even the bean sprouts and greens inside were exceptionally delicious, making it impossible to stop eating.
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